


Rivals

by al-damnvers (Missanna444)



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Baseball, F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-04-08
Updated: 2020-08-20
Packaged: 2021-03-01 23:26:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,616
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23545360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Missanna444/pseuds/al-damnvers
Summary: Alex is the star pitcher for National City's baseball team. Sam plays on their rival's team. They spend a night dancing and flirting, not realizing who the other is... until the next day.In other words, an AgentReign baseball AU.
Relationships: Samantha "Sam" Arias/Alex Danvers
Comments: 29
Kudos: 88





	1. Chapter 1

The National City Fighters were on track to make it to the playoffs, maybe even win the whole damn championship. Alex Danvers was considered the best pitcher in the league and her sister Kara had hit the most home runs the previous season. Things were looking up. 

Alex had never been more proud of herself. She’d started playing baseball as a kid, part of the Midvale Little League. Most girls stopped playing and moved on to softball after age ten. But not Alex. She kept playing. And, because sports had to be inclusive, they couldn’t kick her out no matter how much they wanted to when she started showing up all the boys. When she was in high school, a professional league for women was created. Alex knew right away that she wanted to be part of that league. So, she kept playing and got Kara involved as well. She was recruited to National City University’s team for college and quickly became well known in the college league. She’d been playing for National City’s professional team since she graduated. Kara had become one of their catchers a few years later. 

Their rival was the Metropolis Supers. Alex was bitter because they had a much better name. The Metropolis team was named after their coach, Clark Kent. He was Kara’s cousin and had been nicknamed “Superman” back when he’d been a player for the men’s team. Did it bother some of them that their team was named after a man? Yes. But did they sound like badass superheroes? Definitely. Either way, both teams were determined to beat each other this season.

The first time they were to face off that season, the National City team had a day off the day before. So, in order to hype themselves up, Alex and Kara headed to a bar. 

“Just don’t drink too much, which still got the game tomorrow.” Kara reminded her sister as they ordered their drinks.

“I won’t, don’t worry. Besides, the game isn’t until 7:30, I’ll have plenty of time to recover if I get a hangover.” Alex reassured her.

“Uh huh. Sure.” Kara chuckled softly. “Just, be careful.”

“Yeah, yeah.” 

It wasn’t long before Alex noticed the pretty brunette watching her from across the room. Alex winked at her and the brunette smiled. From a distance, it was hard for either of them to tell who the other was. Still, Alex was sure that she was beautiful.

A couple of drinks into the night, Kara ended up spotting a friend and was hanging out with them. So, Alex headed to the dance floor. Just as she hoped, the brunette followed.

“You’ve been watching me all night.” Alex commented, the grin on her face indicating that she wasn’t at all upset about it.

“It wasn’t difficult, I don’t think I’ve ever seen someone so gorgeous.” The woman chuckled softly. “Care to dance?”

“That’s why I’m on the dance floor, isn’t it?” Alex teased.

“I meant with me.” 

“I know. And the answer is yes.” 

And that was the start of something neither of them could have predicted. They drank, danced, and flirted for quite awhile, before heading to the brunette’s hotel room a few blocks away. They didn’t end up sleeping together, but Alex did spend the night… and she left the next morning before the woman even woke up.

She headed to get breakfast with Kara, trying to manage her hangover. 

“Where’d you end up last night?” Kara asked gently, more curious than anything else. Alex had been going out a bit more since her breakup the year before.

“Went home with that woman I was dancing with. Well, we went to her hotel room.”

Kara raised an eyebrow. “You slept with her?”

“Yeah. Literally, though. All we did was sleep. I think we were going to have sex, but we were too drunk.” Alex mumbled around the bite of blueberry muffin in her mouth.

“You’re not usually one for one night stands, I’m a little surprised it got as far as it did.” 

Alex just shrugged. “She was everything I wanted right then. So gorgeous, flirty, surprisingly gentle… It felt right.” 

“Huh. Did you get her number? Seems like you might want to see her again.”

“Unfortunately not. I was a little spooked by the connection we had, so I pretty much fled this morning.” 

Kara sighed softly. “Alex… nevermind. There’s no point trying to remind you that connection isn’t a bad thing. Did you at least get her name? Or what she looks like? She probably lives here in the National City, maybe we could find her.” 

Alex shook her head at both questions. “If I did get her name, I don’t remember it. And all I remember about her looks is that she’s a brunette. That’s it. She could be literally anyone.”

“Maybe we’ll run into her again. You never know.” Kara said gently.

After breakfast, the two of them headed to Alex’s apartment to get her things she’d need for the game. Her uniform was already in the locker room at the stadium, so all she needed was clothes for before and after the game, plus her water bottle with the team’s logo on it. Once she’d obtained all of that, it was time to head out. She was glad that they were home this week so that she didn’t have to pack her travel bag as well. 

Alex was quiet and thoughtful the entire ride to the stadium. Usually, she was hyping up Kara and the other teammates, but this time was different. She couldn’t get that woman out of her head. Truthfully, since she barely remembered what she looked like, there wasn’t much to remember. But she could feel that there had been a connection. Whatever had happened the night before, it was special and Alex was regretting not making sure she knew who the woman was. Even with what little she could remember, she knew it was the first time she’d felt a spark like that since her breakup. 

That evening, during warm ups, they listened as the batting lineup was announced. 

“First up for the Metropolis Supers tonight will be their star shortstop, Samantha Arias!” Came the announcer’s booming voice. The Metropolis fans cheered loudly and Alex just grinned, unfazed by the skill she knew Sam had. Over the last two years, she’d pitched to Sam many times. As talented as Sam was in the field, she was a predictable batter. Alex figured her out and managed to strike her out at least two or three times per game. Very few other pitchers had managed that with Sam. Alex wasn’t concerned. But she should have been. 

Finally, it was game time. Alex stood on the pitcher’s mound as Sam stepped up to the plate. She watched as the other woman got ready, noticing that there was something in the way she moved that was eerily familiar. Of course, it could have been because Alex saw her several times each season. But something in the back of her mind told her that the real reason was something entirely different, something she wasn’t prepared to face.

Within moments, Sam was ready, lifting the bat over her shoulder and turning her head to face Alex. They locked eyes, and suddenly something clicked.

Time slowed to an unbearable pace as they stared at each other. Alex had been sure that she’d never recognize the woman from the night before if she saw her in real life. But here she was, standing at home plate, waiting for Alex to pitch the damn ball.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Slightly shorter one today, but I had to end it where I did for reasons that will be obvious once you get to it. Thank you for the kudos and comments so far!

“I didn’t need to get pulled that early.” Alex muttered, sitting in the dugout with Nia Nal, National City’s resident left fielder. 

“You absolutely did. Sam was the first batter up and she hit a home run off of you!” Nia reminded her. “I’ve never seen you quite that thrown by someone. What’s going on? You pitched fine for everyone else.”

“I dunno, maybe I don’t know her batting style as well as I thought I did.” Alex shrugged, though she was very sure of the real reason. Now that she knew who she’d been dancing with that night, her mind was going a million miles an hour as she tried to process it. 

“Well, you’d better figure it out, because you haven’t been able to strike her out and she’s already been up four times this game.” 

“They took me out of the game, I guess I’ve got time to think.” Alex muttered, her head in her hands.

Kara joined them a few minutes later, after she’d been struck out. She took one look at Alex’s face and sighed.

“I know you’re upset about being taken out early. But you were terrible out there.”

“Gee, thanks, sis.” Alex rolled her eyes.

Kara sat down beside her. “I just meant that something is off today and they did the right thing so that we still have a chance to win.” She reached over to feel her sister’s forehead. 

“Hey!”

“I’m checking to see if you have a fever, relax.” Kara muttered. “You don’t, which is good. Are you feeling okay, though?”

“I’m fine. Just… I figured out who the woman was.” 

“The one you…?”

“Woke up with this morning? Yeah.” Alex took a deep breath and lowered her voice so that only Kara and Nia could hear her. “It’s Sam.” 

“What?!” Kara gasped and Alex immediately shushed her. 

“Be quiet! I didn’t realize until she turned to face me that first time she was at bat. By the look on her face, she didn’t figure it out until then either.” She glanced over to Nia, who was fighting an amused grin. “Oh, don’t look at me like that.” 

“I’m sorry. I just… How could you not recognize her? She’s Sam Arias! She’s like… the most gorgeous player in the league.” Nia pointed out. “And, besides that, she’s recognizable. She’s one of their star players. Everyone knows who she is. You’ve met her in person tons of times.”

“I was sober all of those other times.” Alex muttered. 

The other two of them fell silent. It made sense. Alex had certainly had a few drinks that night, and Kara knew her well enough to know how it affected her. 

“So… what are you gonna do about it?” Nia asked after a moment. Alex’s eyebrows furrowed in slight confusion.

“What do you mean?” 

“Clearly, something about this situation bothers you. So, what are you gonna do about it? Confront her? Tell her it means nothing? Tell her how you feel about it?”

Alex rolled her eyes. This was the last thing she needed, someone thinking that she actually had feelings for Sam. She didn’t. Absolutely not. She was just angry about all of this, frustrated that she’d let her guard down long enough to make a connection with the one person she should absolutely never interact with. 

Unfortunately for Alex, things only got worse from there. Their season was a great one, for the most part, except for when they played Metropolis in subsequent games. Alex refused to deal with whatever was going on between her and Sam. And Sam seemed to have the same perspective. They never spoke, Alex just had a feeling. The longer that they didn’t address it, the more the tension between them grew. Alex’s pitching became almost uncontrollable. All she wanted was to strike out Sam. But her emotions kept getting the best of her. Sam hit just about every pitch she threw. It didn’t help that Alex felt like Sam was practically taunting her. The smirk when she stepped up to the plate, the amused glint in her eyes when Alex tried to intimidate her. Every bit of it was infuriating. 

“Even though you and Sam should definitely talk, the crowds are totally eating this up.” Kara said between innings. There was someone in the stands who had made a poster that had Alex and Sam’s names on it, and tally marks depending on the outcome of each of their interactions. Alex had very few tally marks that particular game. 

“I’m not delaying it for their sake, I just don’t wanna deal with it. Sam is our rival. Even if I did have feelings for her, which I don’t, this team is far more important.” 

It seemed that Alex would never have to interact with Sam, until the seventh inning of a game halfway through the season. Alex was starting to get tired, she’d been pitching since the start of the game. Sam was at bat again. She’d hit a double a few innings before and Alex was furious. She was furious that Sam was so good and furious at herself for letting this even happen. Sam had gotten under Alex’s skin. And it was very clear that Sam knew. 

Sam gave Alex her usual smirk as she got into her batting stance. But Alex’s reaction was anything but usual. Instead of intense focus and drive at the idea of being better than Sam, Alex’s focus slipped. She was tired. Her arm was tired. Her mind was tired. The amount of pressure and stress on her at that given moment was too much, when combined with her feelings that she’d pushed down. She took a breath and pitched the ball. 

She expected to hear the familiar  _ crack _ of the wooden bat as Sam hit the ball across the field. But that sound never came. It was replaced with a soft  _ thud _ , followed by a hiss of pain. Alex blinked and suddenly Sam was on the ground. She’d been hit with the pitch. Forcing down the sickening realization that she’d hurt someone, even by accident, Alex ran towards her. It felt like she was moving in slow motion, shouting apologies as she hurried to Sam’s side.

She expected to be met with tears of pain, of vulnerability. She expected an opening to help, to make things right. What she got instead was a burning glare of pure anger as Sam met her eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They'll finally interact next chapter!!!
> 
> Thanks for reading, my friends!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> They finally interact!!!
> 
> Tension will follow for at least a few chapters, haha.

“You hit me with the fucking pitch!” Sam shouted as Alex got close to her.

Alex put her hands up defensively. “I didn’t mean to!”

“Bullshit! You’ve been trying to sabotage me ever since you realized what had happened. Don’t think I didn’t see you trying to trip me up every game. I’m sorry I’m better at this game than you, but you need to fucking deal with it.” 

“I was mad, but I would never--” Alex said quickly, her voice rising. Unfortunately, she didn’t have time to clarify. The umpire thought the two of them were fighting and quickly pulled both of them off the field. 

“Get yourself together, Danvers. You’re out of the game.” He growled.

“Me? Me?! What about her? She’s making false accusations and she started swearing at me!” Alex protested.

“Fine. You’re both out of the game.”

Sam’s eyes widened. “My team needs me!”

The umpire looked at her. “Actually, you need to get checked out by the medic and put some ice on that. Both of you, go back to the dugouts and cool off.” 

And so, the two women stormed off in opposite directions, with Sam being escorted by one of her teammates. The rest of the game was uneventful, but both of them getting thrown out caused some damage to both the game and their reputations.

After the game, Kara managed to convince a very stubborn Alex to find Sam and talk to her. So, they were on their way to the hotel the Metropolis team was staying at.

“She’s not gonna want to talk to me.” Alex muttered while they walked. She and Kara had changed out of their uniforms for the sake of blending in while out in public.

“Well, she’s gonna have to. This feud of yours has been going on way too long, it’s damaging the team. I don’t know what’s going through either of your heads, but you keep losing focus and now you hit her with the ball and got thrown out of the game for arguing with her. That doesn’t look good for us. And, talking to her might help you work out whatever you’re feeling.” 

“I don’t have feelings for her.” Alex stated firmly.

“I didn’t say you did. But, it’s clearly bothering you, whatever you do feel. Alex, it’s okay to be confused or frustrated, but the fact that it’s affecting your playing makes me worried about how you’re handling it mentally.” 

Alex didn’t respond and simply continued walking. She didn’t really have a plan to find Sam once they got to the hotel, but it turned out that she didn’t need one. Sam was standing next to another woman on the Metropolis team, Lena Luthor, chatting with her in the lobby. Both of them were out of uniform, but it wasn’t difficult to recognize them. Somehow, Sam must’ve sensed them from across the room, because she pointed to them and muttered something to Lena, which made Lena raise her eyebrows. Alex nearly walked away right then. How was she supposed to handle this? But then Kara put a hand on her shoulder and whispered something about how she was doing the right thing by talking to Sam, and Alex knew she had no choice. Taking a deep breath, Alex headed over there. 

“Arias, I want to talk to you.” She stated firmly. Sam just smirked at her.

“Yeah, I’m not exactly in the mood to talk to you.” The brunette rolled her eyes. Alex didn’t move. 

“Well, maybe you should, then you wouldn’t be so mad. Let me explain myself.” 

“Danvers, you hit me with the baseball. Hard. It hurt. I’m out the next two games while it heals. I don’t know how you can possibly explain that in a way that won’t make me even more angry.” 

“I told you before, it was an accident--”

“You’re just trying to get back at me!”

Alex opened her mouth to speak, but was interrupted by Lena raising her hand to quiet them. Both women looked at her in surprise.

“Sam, you should hear her out.” Lena said gently. Sam stared at her.

“What? Why? She’s being an ass!”

“You’re being an ass, actually.”

“Lena!” 

Lena just shrugged. “If she’s claiming it was an accident, the least you can do is let her speak and hear her out. Maybe it was an accident. You’re making assumptions just because of your history together.” 

Alex glared at Sam. “Lena knows?”

“She’s my best friend, of course she does.” Sam shrugged, then turned to Lena. “I hate it, but you’ve got a point. Fine. I will listen to her explanation.” 

“Finally.” Alex muttered. 

“But let’s go across the room, away from these two.” Sam motioned to Kara and Lena.

Alex nodded and the two headed across the room. 

While they watched the two women interact, Kara reached out a hand to shake Lena’s. “I’m Kara, also a Danvers.”

Lena smiled and shook her hand. “I know. You’re one of National City’s most valuable players. I’m Lena, as Sam mentioned before.”

“Nice to meet you. How much do you know about… their situation?” Kara asked. “I mean, Alex only told me a little bit and obviously I don’t know anything about Sam’s perspective.”

“I don’t know much.” Lena admitted. “Just what Sam told me. I wasn’t even at the bar that night. She said they had quite a connection, but it seems like she’s thrown off by the woman she danced with being someone she’s not supposed to like because she takes this rivalry too damn seriously.” 

“Yeah, Alex can be hard-headed, too.” Kara nodded. “I wonder how this conversation is going to go…” She murmured. 

The conversation was intense. The two of them continued to bicker constantly, unable to get their own thoughts across because they were spending so much time trying to prove the other wrong.

“Can’t you just give me a second to talk without interrupting me?” Alex growled, glaring intently at her. 

“Maybe if you’d stop spewing bullshit! Come on, Danvers. I’m not stupid. I know you don’t like me. You didn’t like me even before this whole thing happened, I know nothing has changed.” 

“You’re right, I don’t like you.” Alex said quickly, aware that it was somewhat a lie. But she continued on and told the truth about the pitch she’d thrown. “But that doesn’t mean that I would be so cruel as to purposely hit you with a baseball and hurt you. The fact that you think I would be that purposefully mean… that hurts. You don’t know me well enough to make that assumption. It was an accident. I swear on my whole career that it was an accident. I was angry. I was upset, I was frustrated that you could always outsmart me and always hit every pitch I threw at you. You’re one of the only people I can’t figure out how to beat. And that’s only happened since we spent that night together. It threw me off, especially at today’s game. I’m sorry, okay? You don’t have to like me, we don’t have to be friends. I just need you to understand.” 

Sam watched her for a moment, as if trying to determine how Alex really felt, trying not to trust what she was saying. But, she found nothing within Alex’s face or physicality that implied she wasn’t telling the truth. So, for now, she had no choice but to believe her. Still, she wasn’t letting her guard down that easily.

“Okay. I forgive you. Accidents happen, especially when you let your emotions get to you--”

“Hey!”

“My point is, I’m forgiving you for that pitch, but we’re not friends. After a night of what felt like a real connection to me, you left before morning. You couldn’t even be that courteous.” 

Alex sighed and nodded. “That’s fair. I understand.”

And so, the two of them parted. Alex left the room while Sam headed back to Lena. Kara said a quick goodbye and headed after Alex. Once the Danvers sisters had left, Lena turned to Sam.

“How did that go?” 

“I guess she wasn’t lying about it being an accident.” Sam shrugged. Lena chuckled softly at that.

“See? I was right about giving her a chance.”

Sam rolled her eyes. “Whatever. But there’s something interesting I noticed. Danvers has a weakness.” 

“Which is obvious. She can’t take competition, especially if it’s you. There’s some sort of tension there.”

“I’m glad you picked up on that, I did too. So, I think I can use that to my advantage… for the sake of the team, of course. I just don’t quite know how.” Sam grinned, a glint in her eye that meant mischief was afoot. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you reading and for your kudos and comments! This is definitely one of my favorite stories I've written as of late.
> 
> Come yell at me or say hi on tumblr (al-damnvers-blog) and twitter (wavesearphaught)!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the long wait, but my semester is over, so more will be coming soon! Enjoy this chapter from Sam's POV!

Sam could tell that Alex had some sort of crush on her. And, if she was being honest, she may have felt the same way for the redhead. But that wasn’t why she was doing this, coming up with this plan. Absolutely not. She wanted to distract Alex, teach her a lesson. Actual feelings were not in any way involved in this. It took her a long time to figure out exactly what she wanted to do. She and Lena brainstormed for a bit, though it was mostly Sam just giving ideas and Lena trying not to shoot them down too quickly. But, frankly, none of them were that good. Until Coach Kent gave her an order that would change everything, that is.

“This feud between the two of you is bad for the press.” He explained after calling Sam into his office. 

“Danvers has a stick up her ass, I don’t know what to tell you.” Sam shrugged, earning a look from Clark. Right, Alex was his cousin. Well, he was Kara’s cousin. But adoptive family is still family, so he was Alex’s cousin too.

“I had a talk with her coach.” Clark began.

“And? I don’t think there’s anything you and Coach J’onzz could have come up with to make us cooperate with each other.”

“You don’t have to make up, just pretend like you have.”

“If you’re suggesting I have dinner with her every week or some nonsense like that--”

Clark put up a hand to silence her. “Nothing like that. You both have social media, correct? Follow each other, interact kindly with each other’s posts. Make the feud look like a friendly joke between the two of you. Because right now, this whole thing looks like we’ve got two hotheaded players who have egos too big to play the game.” 

“You want me to… comment on her Instagram posts or something? Isn’t that kinda… dumb?”

“She has to do it too. The fans will catch on, it’ll spread like wildfire, and then the press will catch wind of it and we’ll be in the clear. If you two can’t actually shape up, then you need to pretend. Just until this calms down a bit.” 

The wheels were already turning in Sam’s head. To Clark’s surprise, she agreed without much more of an argument. 

Within the hour, Sam was discussing her new plan with Lena.

“What exactly does the whole social media thing have to do with any of this?” Lena questioned. 

“Simple. I post things that are totally normal for me to post, but will absolutely be a distraction for Alex. Or, at least, they’ll frustrate her.”   
  


“You can just say you’re gonna post thirst traps.”

“That’s not--”

Lena raised an eyebrow. “That’s exactly what this is.” 

“I already post them sometimes, I’ve just gotta up my game a little.” Sam shrugged.

“Please don’t send her into cardiac arrest.” 

“Do you think she likes me that much?” Sam sounded slightly more interested in a way that was just a little bit different than purely making a plan to keep their team winning. 

“Is that something you care about?” Lena smirked, pleased to have caught Sam almost admitting feelings. Sam frowned. 

“No. Shut up. I just… need to know how it’ll affect her. I don’t want her to be totally inept, just hindered.” She replied, all softness in her face gone.

Lena sighed softly, but didn’t argue. Truth be told, she didn’t really like this plan or the fact that Sam had a plan at all. Lena herself didn’t have much against National City other than a more friendly rivalry. And, now she was somewhat friends with Kara. Kara was pretty nice, and so was Alex when she didn’t have a stick up her ass. It seemed like most of their team was nice, actually. So, Lena felt a little odd plotting to make them lose. Did she want Metropolis to make it to the playoffs? Of course. But she’d rather accomplish that based on skill rather than trickery. She knew that Sam meant no real harm and was probably just coping with feelings for Alex. Whether Sam would admit it or not, Lena could tell the real reason she wanted attention from Alex. And, frankly, Lena had a feeling both of them would eventually cave and just be together. It might be a very long road, though.

Sam’s plan went into action a week later. She’d recruited Lena to help her take pictures during games when the opportunity presented itself. Most of the time this happened during warm ups, because Lena had to be on the field too. But, every once in awhile, the press snapped an action shot of Sam during a game. Sam carefully chose what to post and when to post it. Since Alex had no choice but to look at it, she figured she’d post it before a game started, so that it would be just annoying enough to throw the redhead off her game. As far as Sam could tell, this was the only way to get in Alex’s head on days when Metropolis and National City were up against different teams. And much to Sam’s glee and Alex’s chagrin, it worked.

After their third attempt at distracting Alex, they checked the highlights from the National city game that had happened after Sam’s post. Alex had been the starting pitcher and was out of the game an inning earlier than usual.

“Look at this, Lena. It’s going so well! Oh, look how frustrated she looks… Kinda hot, honestly.” Sam grinned. Lena sighed softly, watching the clip her friend was watching. 

“I’m glad your plan is working for you, Sam. But something about this really doesn’t sit right.” 

“Oh, come on, is there really any harm in this?”

“We’re making them lose! That’s cheating! I feel bad.”

Sam just shrugged. “We’re not making them lose. They don’t lose every time. Just sometimes. And it just hurts Alex’s stats a little, keeps her ego in check.”

Lena rolled her eyes. “Why can’t you just be confident that we’d beat them in the playoffs based on skill alone?”

“Because that might not be true. And if you tell anyone I said that, I’m going to deny everything. We’re a good team. But National City is incredible and we need to beat them. Knocking Alex down a peg is just a bonus.”


	5. Chapter 5

“This is bullshit.”

“Oh, come on, it can’t be that bad.”

After the directive to interact with Sam on social media, Alex was truly not happy. She acted like she wasn’t happy, anyways. She didn’t exactly mind seeing some of Sam’s posts. But she hated the way it distracted her, the way she couldn’t stop thinking about it, the way it ruined her playing ability. 

She and Nia were out getting lunch on their day off. Kara was spending extra time practicing, but Alex wanted to just relax. She showed Nia what Sam had posted that morning, a picture from a recent practice. In the picture, Sam was jumping up to catch a ball that was above her head, her shirt lifted just enough to see a hint of the abdominal muscles underneath. 

“Oh.” Nia said quietly. “Yeah, okay, that’s not fantastic. No one wants to admit their rival is hot…”

“That’s not-- ugh, whatever. I just hate that I have to do this social media thing.” Alex muttered. “I can tell she’s posting the things she does on purpose, trying to throw me off. And it works!”

“Why don’t you just… ignore her?” Nia suggested, raising an eyebrow at Alex’s struggle. There was definitely something that the redhead wasn’t telling her.

“I’ve tried. I even logged out of all my social media so I wouldn’t see her posts. But our manager caught wind of it and made me log back in. Even worse, I had to turn on post notifications on Instagram so that I don’t miss anything.”

Nia winced. “I’m so sorry. Just… try not to let it affect your pitching. I know it’s hard, but you can handle it.”

Alex sighed. “It’s not going to be easy… In the meantime, can you help me decide how to react to this one? I still have to post a comment on it.”

“Can I see the picture again?” Nia asked. Alex nodded and handed over her phone.

Nia examined the picture for a moment, looking at some of the other comments as well to make sure that Alex’s response was reasonable. Many of the comments were obviously from fans who thought Sam was attractive.

“Okay, I think I’ve got something you can write.”

“And what would that be?”

“Most of the comments are relating to how hot they think she looks, yours will stand out if it’s not about that.”

“I wasn’t going to admit to her being hot anyways.” Alex pointed out. Nia rolled her eyes.

“My point is… comment on the catch she’s making. Even though her caption clearly proves that this is indeed a thirst trap--”

“Please don’t call it that.”

“I’m just speaking the truth. My point is, you don’t have to give in to that. You can just comment on the actual thing she’s doing in the picture.” 

Alex nodded. “Okay. So, how do I do that? I feel like just writing ‘Great catch!’ or something like that is… dumb. It also doesn’t exactly help the whole fooling the press thing.”

“Right. So, you’ve got two options. Be honest about it or make a joke.”

“I’m not good with jokes, so how about you just write this one for me?” Alex sighed. 

Nia grinned and typed something, then showed it to Alex. Alex raised an eyebrow, but nodded. Nia posted the comment. 

_ alex_danvers: Don’t get in over your head, Arias. _

“Are you sure it’s not too cheesy?” Alex murmured after a moment. “I mean, the ball is literally over her head, so the joke is so obvious…” 

“Alex, it’s fine. Besides, it’s already got a bunch of likes and comments, it would be useless to delete your comment now.”

Alex sighed and buried her head in her hands. The next day, she was still thinking about the picture. It took her longer than usual to build up her pitching momentum during that night’s game. She was lucky National City didn’t lose, but her own stats were taking a hit.

Some of the rest of the posts that week were rather tame, but the next one to throw Alex off came before an important game against Gotham. The post was a video Lena had taken of Sam while working out, where Sam explained various exercises people could do to keep themselves safe during the athletic season. But, of course, she did it in a sports bra and shorts. 

“Wow. She has impressive arms.” Kara chuckled, seeing the post come across her own Instagram feed. “I wonder if she’ll tell me her workout.” 

“She does look good…” Alex grumbled, earning a raised eyebrow from her sister. “But that’s not the point. She must know at this point how much this distracts me. My pitching is always terrible when she posts stuff like this. She’s doing it on purpose.” 

Kara shrugged. “Could be. But I know you have it in you to ignore it. Try it tonight. Do whatever you possibly can to focus on the game. Prove to her that it doesn’t work on you. You’re stronger than that.” 

Alex frowned. Kara had a point. Whenever Sam posted something, she mostly just complained about it and focused on it until the image was stuck in her head. But maybe she could try something different this time. Maybe she could post her obligatory comment and then spend the rest of the day hyping the team up for their game. Alex quickly typed out a response, posted it, then put her phone away.

_ alex_danvers: Make sure you’ve got someone spotting you in your workouts. Wouldn’t want Metropolis’s star to get hurt, would we? _

Somehow, Alex’s strategy worked. At least, it worked for about half of the game. She didn’t think about Sam, she focused on getting as many strikeouts as she could and making sure not a single batter for Gotham stole a base. She was playing far better than she had recently. It felt freeing. Unfortunately, it all went downhill after the seventh inning, when she checked her phone while National City was at bat. She’d gotten plenty of texts from friends and family about how well she was doing. But, as she scrolled through, she saw a reply to her comment on Sam’s post. 

_ arias.sam: Are you offering your services, Danvers?  _

Alex was lucky that she was about to be taken out of the game anyways because her arm was getting tired, Sam’s comment didn’t help at all.

That night, Alex and Kara were having one of their late night talks in Alex’s hotel room. Being sleepy always made Alex honest and thoughtful, which tended to bring out her true feelings, so she liked to work all of it out with the person she trusted the most. The conversation had lulled for awhile, until Alex broke the silence.

“I have feelings for Sam…” 

Kara glanced over at her, not sure how to respond. “Why else would you react so strongly to her? I don’t blame you, she is hot…” 

Alex shook her head, staring up at the ceiling. “It’s more than that, though. I mean, yeah, it was mostly physical attraction at first. But I keep remembering the night I spent with her, when I didn’t know who she was and all we did was make out and talk a little. I felt so… safe. And seen. And I can’t let go of that. I know who she is under all that bravado. And I need… I want to be with her again, like that. I doubt she feels the same, the way she’s been acting.”

“There’s only one way to find out. You have to talk to her.”

“Yeah. Yeah, I do.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ooh, things are getting interesting! 
> 
> Thank you for all of your comments and kudos so far! I'm having so much fun with this story. As always, feel free to come say hi, chat, share your theories about the story, send me oneshot prompts, etc on Tumblr (al-damnvers-blog). I look forward to hearing your thoughts!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Two chapters left after this one!!!
> 
> Thank you for sticking with me while it took so long to update. I hope you enjoy this one!

For some reason that Alex never truly understood, she let Kara talk her into revealing her feelings for Sam. Or, at least, telling Sam about them. Their rivalry had gone on so long and was having damaging effects on both teams, and the only way to sort it out was for Alex to tell Sam the truth. That, and maybe it would take the weight off of her chest that had settled there the past month or so. But making the choice to say it was the easy part. Actually following through with it was going to be a lot more difficult. 

The idea of talking to Sam made her nervous. Did she want to smooth things over with the woman? Yes. Did she want to have the chance to be with her for real and form a relationship with her? Absolutely, yes. But, even if she wanted those things, did she know what to say in the first place? Nope. Not at all. There were a lot of things that could happen, things that could go wrong. What if she messed up and said the wrong thing? What if Sam didn’t feel the same? Then she’d just be making a fool of herself, which truly wouldn’t bode well for each of their futures. If Sam didn’t like her back, then each game against Metropolis would be more excruciating if Alex had to live with the memory of getting rejected. Okay, so maybe it was better for her to not chicken out. Still, this wasn’t going to be easy. Of course it wasn’t.

It took Alex all of a week to finally work up the courage and even send Sam a message. It had to be through Instagram, since the two of them had never exchanged phone numbers. It felt impersonal and weird to talk through social media, but it wasn’t like they had a ton of choice. So, Alex sent her a message.

_ alex_danvers: Sam? It’s Alex Danvers. Can we talk? _

_ arias.sam: I know it’s you, I saw your username. _

Alex snorted, a bit embarrassed. It didn’t surprise her that she’d already found a way to mess this up. She started to reply, but saw in the chat that Sam was typing.

_ arias.sam: Anyways, what’s up? Here to beg for mercy so that you can go back to actually being a good pitcher? Because honestly those pictures are so fun to post, so I probably won’t stop. _

_ alex_danvers: Unfortunately for you, no. I just wanted to talk to you about something. _

_ arias.sam: Oh? Go ahead, I guess. _

_ alex_danvers: Can we meet up or something? Talking like this feels dumb.  _

_ arias.sam: Uhhhhhhh sure? When? _

_ alex_danvers: What about next time you guys are in National City? It’s a few weeks away, which sucks, but I want to talk in person. _

_ arias.sam: Huh. Yeah, okay. Works for me. You wanna give me any hints about what the point of this is? _

_ alex_danvers: Nope. Have fun with your game tonight, Arias.  _

And that was it, somewhat set in stone. As the weeks continued and it got closer to when Sam would be in town, they set a time and meeting place. The day grew closer and closer, while Alex got more nervous. The two of them had planned to meet at a small coffee shop in the city on the morning of their game, so Alex walked from her apartment to the shop. It was a long walk and she could have taken public transportation, but she needed time to think. Or so she thought, anyways. All it really did was cause her to overthink. The same questions played over and over in her mind. What if Sam didn’t like her that way? What if she regretted that night they’d spent together? What if Sam never liked her at all and was trying to get rid of her with all the teasing? Trying to calm herself, Alex dialed Kara’s number. 

“Alex, what are you doing?” Kara asked instead of her usual chipper ‘hello’ when she answered the phone.

“Calling you, obviously.”

“I know that. I meant, why are you calling me? I thought your meeting with Sam wasn’t for another half an hour.” 

“I’m on my way there now. I decided to walk there to clear my head. But…”

“You’re overthinking?”

“Yeah.”

Alex could hear a quiet sigh from her sister on the other end of the line. 

“Alex, you’re going to be just fine. I know you, and I know that it’ll work out no matter how she reacts.” 

“What if I’ve been misreading this whole thing? That’s what bothers me the most, I think. Yeah, I’m scared that she won’t feel the same, but it’s perhaps worse that she really is mad about everything that happened between us. It felt like purposeful teasing, all those posts and interactions. It felt like… like there really was an attraction between the two of us. But maybe I read it wrong. Maybe she really is angry. Maybe she doesn’t want to remember our night together. Maybe it was different for her.” 

Kara was quiet for a moment, thinking about her sister’s words. Alex’s last relationship hadn’t ended well, so Kara understood her hesitance towards making a move. But, she also knew that if she didn’t push her sister a little, then nothing would ever happen. 

“Alex, you should still tell her.”

“But--”

“No, just listen. You need to tell her, but not with the goal of getting into a relationship with her. That can be a nice bonus if it happens. But tell her just to get it off your chest. I can tell how much this bothers you, having to hide your feelings for her. No matter she says, no matter how this all turns out, at least you will have been honest about your own thoughts. Do this for you.” 

“I’m still nervous. But… that did make me feel better.” Alex said quietly. By now, she was about five blocks from the coffee shop and had picked up her pace a little, no longer dragging her feet. 

“It did? Oh, good. You’re gonna do just fine, Alex. And, listen, if she doesn’t like you back, she’s an idiot. You’re an incredible athlete, and even more so a wonderful person.”

“Okay, okay, that’s too sappy for me. I’ll call you later, Kara.” 

“Okay! Good luck!” 

Alex sighed and hung up the phone. She picked up her pace again and was now speed walking towards the shop. She wanted to get this done with. And, frankly, she was feeling a little more confident after her talk with Kara and needed to get her words out before that confidence went away. It wasn’t long before she reached the shop. She glanced inside as she passed a window and saw Sam already sitting at a table. Alex took a deep breath as she reached for the door. There was no turning back now.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the cliffhanger last time, it just felt like the right place to stop lol. Enjoy this chapter!

Sam had arrived at the coffee shop about five minutes before Alex. Those five minutes felt like a lifetime.

Her usual attitude of intense self-assurance was non-existent in that moment. Usually, she was surrounded by teammates or fans or something she could use to bolster herself. But not now. Now, she was going to be practically alone with Alex. She had no idea why Alex had wanted to talk. It didn’t help that the redhead had been incredibly cryptic while leading up to their meeting. All she’d said was that it had to be in person. That could mean just about anything. Maybe she simply wanted to patch things up between them and call it a truce. That would be the ideal, she supposed. The other possibilities were more likely to give her a heart attack. 

On one hand, Alex could be about to tell her to stop her antics, to tell her that she was angry, to tell her that everything going on was just making her angry, to tell her that their night together months ago had meant nothing. It was possible, certainly. And Sam didn’t like that option. That night had meant more to her than she was willing to admit. As much as she had a tendency to do too much and push people away, she didn’t want to push Alex away. She wanted to flirt and play and just be with her. Perhaps the competition of being on rival teams had gotten the best of her. Either way, having to face the end of something that never even began was heartbreaking.

The other possibility was that Alex actually did have feelings for her and wanted to confess them. Considering how Sam felt, that wasn’t such a bad thing at first and even made her a little excited to see her. But, then her thoughts started getting derailed with all the reasons why that could be a bad thing. It was what she wanted, to get to be with Alex. But somehow, she still felt like there was something in the way. There shouldn’t have been, they seemed like the kind of people to actually get along and connect quite well if they tried. But something held her back, nonetheless, and it wasn’t until Alex showed up and they started talking that she knew what it was. 

Alex had shown up exactly on time and approached the table as soon as she entered the shop.

“I’m just gonna grab a coffee real quick, then I’ll be right back. Can I, uh, get you anything?” She asked. 

“Oh. Sure. Just a regular coffee with a little cream in it.” 

“Right. I’ll be back.” 

Alex darted off to wait in line so quickly that Sam hadn’t even had time to process the interaction. She could sense a nervousness in the other woman, so at least they had that in common. 

Alex returned a few minutes later and handed Sam her drink, then sat down across from her. There was silence between the two of them as they each took sips of their drinks. But then the silence continued after that. It seemed that neither of them really knew exactly how to start the conversation. Sam knew that Alex probably had something specific she wanted to say, and therefore didn’t know if she should start the conversation since she didn’t know what it was. But the silence was getting awkward and the tension was palpable. Finally, she spoke.

“As much as I love just sitting and drinking coffee, you wanted to talk about something. What is it?” Sam asked, surprising herself with the softness in her tone. It seemed she surprised Alex as well, because the redhead raised an eyebrow.

“Ah, right. Sorry. I guess I’m just trying to figure out how to say it. I spent the whole way here worrying about your reaction, so I didn’t really have time to figure out how to say what I need to say.”

“You worried about how I’d react? Well, now I’m worried about what you’re going to say.” 

Alex sighed and took a deep breath, then looked across the table at an attentive and curious Sam. 

“Sam, the truth is… I have feelings for you. Good ones. I like you. Like, a lot. In a way more than friends sort of way. And, if I’m being honest, I’ve felt this way since that night we spent. I might’ve been drunk that night, but I remember how I felt, the way we danced and talked late into the night and opened up to each other and how real it felt… I didn’t realize that you were Sam Arias, the best player on the rival team. I had no preconceived notion of how I was supposed to feel about you, so I really got to know you that night. And then I got so caught up in everything once I found out who you were, that I forgot all about that. I just… I really like you. And I hope I have a chance with you. If you don’t feel the same, it’s okay. I just had to get it off my chest.”

Sam’s eyebrows shot up in shock as she processed what Alex was saying to her. Alex Danvers liked her. Alex Danvers actually liked her and wanted to be with her! On the inside, she was cheering, she was jumping for joy, she was grinning with excitement at the prospect of a potential happy future. But her reaction on the outside was a little different. The happiness she felt overwhelmed her, as emotions often do, and she struggled to respond. Her mouth hung open, as if she’d tried to say something but the words had gotten caught in her throat. There was so much she wanted to say, but it all wanted to come out at once, therefore nothing came out at all.

Confused and scared by Sam’s reaction, Alex quickly tried to backtrack. “I’m so sorry, I know it’s a lot, it’s okay if you don’t feel the same--”

“I do, Alex.” Sam said quietly, finally finding her words.

“What?”

“I do feel the same. I was just a bit surprised at your confession, that’s all. Of all the things we were possibly gonna talk about today, I really didn’t think this would be one of them. I don't know how to react. But I do like you, Alex.” She said gently, reaching across the table to touch Alex’s hand ever so lightly. She swore she could see Alex’s ears turn pink. But her attention shifted when she saw the awestruck look on Alex’s face as she noticed their hands touching. Yeah, okay, she couldn’t ignore her feelings anymore. 

“So… We’ve established that we like each other. That’s good, and very much a relief.” Alex said carefully, with a soft chuckle. It seemed that both of them being vulnerable managed to break the tension a little. “What do we do now?”

“We do what any normal potential couple would do. We go on a date.” Sam’s tone was quite matter-of-fact. 

“But we’re not normal. We’re stars of our respective baseball teams, always in the spotlight. And our teams are basically enemies. We can’t go out in public, otherwise we could be accused of all kinds of things. We can’t have people thinking that we’re cheating every time we play each other just because we like each other.”

Sam nodded slowly. “True. All of that is true. But, we’re not a couple yet. We haven’t even been on a date. We don’t even know if this will work out or not. So, how about this: we go on a date, but somewhere private. One of our apartments, somewhere on the edge of town even. We won’t be seen and we can just be together. And, if it goes well and we want to continue, then we can worry about the future.” 

“Okay. Let’s do that.” Alex smiled softly. “Since you guys are here for a few days, why don’t we do it tomorrow? After the game. We just hang out and see what happens.” 

“You know, that’s a pretty good idea, Danvers.” Sam told her, giving her one of the most genuine smiles that Alex had ever seen from her. 

Maybe, just maybe, this might work out after all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One more chapter to go! I'm debating writing a sequel sometime in the future, but I'm not sure what it'll be about. I'll ask you all more about that after the final chapter. As always, thank you for reading!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alex and Sam's date.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We did it. We're here. Final chapter. THANK YOU so much for being patient with me in getting this finished. A lot has been going on, as I'm sure it has for everyone, but I did it. I finished this amazing, beautiful story. And that's all thanks to you all for supporting me. If you guys want a sequel for this, let me know. I have a vague idea of what the plot would be. 
> 
> Again, thank you. Enjoy this finale!

Having a date after a game in which both of their teams were playing didn’t quite seem like a good idea on the surface. It would be a late night date, given that the game itself wouldn’t end until at least 10pm. Alex and Sam were planning to go out for dinner and drinks at a small restaurant on the edge of the city. Normally, it wouldn't be open at that time of night, but Alex had called them and made a special reservation for just the two of them. It was the only way for them to actually get time alone but still go out, considering they were famous athletes. They wanted to figure out if this would even work between them, before they let anything be public. But before they could do anything, they had to get through this game. 

“Something on your mind?” Lena asked while she and Sam were getting ready in the locker room. 

“I’m going on a date with Alex.” Sam said bluntly. Lena raised an eyebrow, though her smirk said _I told you so_. “Don’t look at me like that, Lena. I really don’t need it from you right now.”

“I didn’t say anything.” The other woman shrugged. “But I am happy for you, even if you tried to deny your feelings for her.”

“I wasn’t exactly planning on doing anything about it. I was going to suffer in silence, like any normal person.” Sam muttered, fidgeting with the laces on her shoes. 

“And why is that?” At Sam’s glare, Lena put up her hands defensively and added, “I’m just trying to understand what happened. You’re my best friend, and I want to help you. But you were so focused on destroying Alex’s career until yesterday, so I want to understand.”

Sam sighed, sitting up. She leaned back against the locker door, avoiding Lena’s gaze for a moment. “Lena, I’ve been attracted to her this whole time. You know that, even if I didn’t admit it. That stupid night we spent at the beginning of the season… it was perfect. She’s perfect. There were no walls up that night, we were just ourselves. And behind that arrogant, angry facade she’s got up, she’s so completely different. Kind, caring, gentler than I knew a person could be…”

Lena nodded slightly, but didn’t say anything at Sam’s pause. This was a big thing to talk about, she wasn’t going to interrupt her. Sam finally looked over at Lena and continued her explanation.

“When I realized who she was, it became clear to me that no matter how much I wanted to be with her, I couldn’t. It could never happen. We are professional athletes, always in the spotlight. Every relationship either one of us has been in has found its way over all the tabloids. And that puts a strain on things. To make matters worse, our teams are rivals. If a relationship between us was discovered, it would ruin everything. We’d never get to be normal. It’s a stupid thing to want when you’re famous, but I’d love a little normalcy. And I want it with her. But I was convinced it couldn't happen.”

Sam seemed finished, so Lena spoke up. “What changed, then? What happened? Judging by what you’ve just said, a date with Alex is a huge step.”

“She told me she had feelings for me. After everything that’s happened, she made the first move. I guess that told me how much she meant it. So, now, we’re going to go on a date tonight and see what happens. It’ll be on the edge of town, after hours. We won’t be found out.”

Lena was quiet for a few moments, focusing on putting on the shirt of her uniform and buttoning it before she responded. 

“Alex must really like you.” She said finally. “She’s a lucky woman. And so are you. I’m sure that whatever happens, everything will turn out alright. Now, we’ve got a game to play. The better we do, the faster we win, and the faster you get to go on that date.” 

She grabbed some of her gear and headed for the door. Sam sighed softly and got up, checking herself in the mirror as she pulled her hair up to tuck under her cap. She was terrified. Not just of the date, but of the game too. Anything could go wrong. Anything could sabotage whatever happiness she was about to finally have. But she had to do this. She had agreed to the date and she had to play the game first. 

“Let’s do this.” She muttered, taking a deep breath. Within moments, she had left the room and was hurrying down the hall to follow Lena. 

The game started out as most of the games did: slowly. Both teams had decided to bring out their absolute best. For the first few innings, nothing happened. A few hits here and there, but no one made it on base. Not even Sam. 

“How much do you wanna bet this goes into extra innings?” Lena sighed in the seventh inning. There was still no score from either team.

“Oh, please, no. We’ll miss our dinner reservation.” Sam frowned. 

“What time is the reservation?” 

“11:30. We figured the game would be over by 10:00.” 

“Well, it still might be. We don’t have to give up just yet.” 

And so, they kept playing. Every once in awhile, Sam would meet Alex’s eyes across the field. Alex looked calm, but just as concerned as Sam was. After all they’d been through, why couldn’t they have this one thing? Sam’s phone buzzed later in the game, the ninth inning. Still, noscore. Alex had been replaced by another pitcher, and Sam was sitting in the dugout while her team was at bat. The text was from Alex.

_Alex: You okay? You looked a little worried earlier._

Sam smiled slightly at Alex’s concern. She quickly sent a message back. 

_Sam: We’re about to go into extra innings and you and I are going to miss our reservation._

_Alex: I can let them know we’ll be late, if you want._

_Sam: If we’re going to be late, let them know we can’t make it. Let them close down early, they’re being nice enough by keeping the place open, we shouldn’t make them stay open longer._

_Alex: If we’re still here at 11:00, I’ll call them._

Sam sighed softly. She had been looking forward to this date, even if they’d only planned it yesterday. The restaurant had seemed perfectly romantic. And now they might not even get to go. It was unclear what their plan was going to be, as Sam had to go out in the field before she could text Alex again.

The game dragged on. It didn’t help that it wasn’t quick outs each inning. Sometimes, the bases were even loaded before an out was made, but still no one scored. The tenth, eleventh, and twelfth innings passed them by. It was rare that a game went more than three extra innings, but this was a special game, apparently. Alex texted again after the twelfth inning ended. It was just past 11:00. 

_Alex: Just called them. I’m sorry we can’t have dinner tonight._

_Sam: Our teams are just that good. Who knows how long this is going to last._

_Alex: We’re getting tired. If this lasts much longer, the game will definitely go to you._

_Sam: We’ll see._

Alex ended up being right. Somehow, Metropolis had managed to exhaust National City after seventeen long innings. It was nearing 1:00 in the morning by the time the game ended. Most of the crowd had left by then, so the cheering was minimal when Metropolis won. Even from the Metropolis teammates, there wasn’t much more than a few high fives, as they were all too tired to really care. 

Sam was one of the last out of the locker room, a little nervous about facing Alex. Actually, she wasn’t even sure they would be meeting up, now that it was so late. So, she changed into a t-shirt and sweatpants before finally grabbing her bag and heading out of the room. As soon as she stepped into the hallway, she saw Alex standing there in a hoodie and jeans, holding a small bouquet of flowers. 

“Sam!” It seemed like Alex’s whole face lit up when she saw her. Same chuckled to herself, truly surprised at how adorable Alex had turned out to be. 

“I wasn’t sure we’d actually be seeing each other tonight.” Sam commented after thanking her for the flowers. 

“Me either, honestly. But I figured the least I could do was bring you the flowers and offer to walk you to your hotel room. Unless, of course, you want to do something else.” 

“We can certainly head to my room. But… maybe you could stay? We can’t go out for a date, but we can still hang out together and get room service or something.” Sam suggested after a moment. 

Alex was surprised by the idea, but nodded, a grin forming on her face. “Sure. I’d love that.” 

And so, the two of them walked to the hotel, talking the whole way about the game. Alex didn’t seem jealous or upset at all that National City had lost. If anything, she just seemed amused that their date had been thrown off by a rare game with extra innings. 

“Wow… This is a nice hotel room. They really get you guys the good stuff, huh?” Alex chuckled when they had arrived at Sam’s room.

“Well, we are one of the top teams in the country.” Sam pointed out, setting her bag and Alex’s down on the floor. 

“You most certainly are.” Alex agreed, sitting herself down in a chair by the bed. She didn’t want to make assumptions about what Sam would be most comfortable with. Sam herself flopped onto the bed with a sigh, then sat up. 

“Let’s order dinner.” She smiled and handed Alex a room service menu from the nightstand. 

“I’m absolutely starving after that game.” Alex giggled. 

They ordered food and drinks, and spent the next few hours just laughing and talking, enjoying this time together with no expectations, no worries, just each other’s company. Throughout the night, they seemed to get more comfortable with each other. Alex ended up lying next to Sam on the bed while a movie played in the background. She could feel herself starting to doze off and quickly sat up.

“What is it?” Sam asked, turning her attention away from the movie. 

“I, uh… I’m just tired. I should probably go, it’s almost sunrise and I don’t want to impose by accidentally falling asleep next to you.” Alex said, starting to climb off of the bed. Sam grabbed her arm. 

“Please stay. If you want, I want you to stay. You can sleep here.”

“It won’t make you uncomfortable?” Alex said carefully. Sam shook her head. 

“No. And stay until I wake up this time. I wanna actually see your face when I wake up this time.” She smiled softly. 

“Yeah, okay. I can definitely do that.” Alex climbed into bed again and got under the blankets. 

They fell asleep sometime later, neither of them really knew when. What they did know was that this was the start of something beautiful, and they were both finally happy. Whatever happened after this, they would be together through it all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, you can reach me on Tumblr (al-damnvers-blog) and on Twitter (@wavesearphaught). Come say hi!


End file.
